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MUSICIANS COME TOGETHER AT THE BIG SQUEEZE TO HELP THE ACCORDION GET ITS RESPECT BACK
Zydeco, Polka, Folk, Jazz, Gypsy, Tango, Russian, Tex Mex, Latin, Balkan, Rock and Other Music Styles Represented at the 1st Orange County Accordion Festival
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9/9/2009 : COSTA MESA, CA--Accordionists, squeeze box aficionados and other musicians ranging in ages 8 to 91 years, with talent levels and music styles as equally broad ranging, will join together for a common goal at “The Big Squeeze,” the 1st Orange County Accordion Festival on Sunday, October 11, 2009 held in conjunction with the Orange County Market Place, the weekend swap meet at the fairgrounds.
The goal: to help the accordion get its respect back while showcasing the instrument’s rich history and cross cultural appeal and adaptability into a variety of music genres. And to have fun!
“There is nothing else like an accordion and people who think of it just as something they heard on “The Lawrence Welk Show” a long time ago are really missing out on something wonderful,” said Alex Lavruk, one of the featured performers at the Festival who learned to play as a child in a state run music school in the former Soviet Union before immigrating to the United States in 1994.
“Over the years, the accordion hasn’t gotten much respect, which is too bad because when all is said and done – the accordion is fun. It’s the only musical instrument that will play bass notes, chords, rhythm, and melody all at the same time and still be portable and relatively easy to learn, “said accordionist Jim Gilman of Yorba Linda and performer at the Festival. “It seems to bring people back to a happier time,” he added.
Along with Lavruk and Gilman, more than 30 accordionists and several musicians that perform with them, will put on a fanfare of squeeze box styles on four different stages which schedules read more like a culinary menu.
Old Style Creole, Cajun and Zydeco will be presented via Grammy nominee for Best Zydeco/Cajun Music, Lisa Haley and the Zydekats with the accordion music of Skip Edwards from Los Angeles .who took up the squeeze box in 1987 when he started touring and recording with Dwight Yoakam. Cousins Joe Fontenot , 75, of Rosemead, and Dempsey Pappion, 55, of Buena Park, both born and raised in Louisiana, will jam old Creole style with accordions and rub boards. Fontenot’s 8 year old grandson John Fontenot will join in on rub board.
Los Fabulocos with Kid Ramos, an established blues guitar player, will spice things up with a Tex-Mex blend of traditional stylings, as well as rhythm and blues and rockabilly music utilizing button accordion maestro Jesse Cuevas from East Los Angeles. Cuevas’ accordion infusion is influenced by Louisiana based Zydeco, in particular the music of Clifton Chenier, and the music, from the 1940s, of Los Alegres Del Teran, pioneers of the harmonically rich norteno, corridos and rancheras.
The Russian born Lavruk, now from Fontana, plays a 40 year old handmade Italian accordion and a modern Roland digital accordion, and will demonstrate some of his expertise by playing a selection of Italian, Spanish, Mexican, Jewish, Russian, French and Polish songs.
Also originating in the Soviet Union is Raving Polka, also known as Limpopo, a four-member folk and comedy troupe, with a long list of awards and gigs throughout the world. They will bring a slice of Russian folk with a twist of jazz, blues, dance and comedy. Their accordionist, Lou Fanucchi of San Diego is an international award winning professional accordionist who has mastered many music styles and has performed with international recognized artists such as Frankie Lane, the St. Louis Symphony, Frank Yankovic, The American Ballet Company and Luciano Pavarotti to name a few. Fanucchi will also present a Tango Nuevo Workshop.
An accordionist since 1975, Gigi “Gee” Rabe of Culver City, who was recently given the title of “L.A.’s Accordion Diva,” sports a glittering resume, from winning national honors and playing in international folk festivals to contributing music for the “Young and the Restless” and the Disney ride “Toy Story.” She holds an M.A. in Ethnomusicology from UCLA, where she is a teaching associate, and has researched, lectured on and written papers on subjects ranging from Americana and sub cultural music to Balkan and Caribbean music.
Rabe will perform with one of her several groups, Haberdashery, a genre-defying chamber jazz ensemble based out of Los Angeles. The quartet plays tango, classical, jazz, folk, gypsy and French music with the precision of a chamber ensemble combined with the improvisational freedom of a jazz combo.
Gilman and Roberto Rosa of Elk Grove, perform on separate stages, but both turn into one man orchestras as they hook up their accordions with modern electronics. Gilman adds high-tech wizardry to his Cordovox including a MIDI, two external keyboards, a synthesizer and a vocal modulator.
Gilman, now 60, grew up in Chicago and learned to play at age 7. After moving to California, he put himself through college playing at Knott’s Berry Farm. He has since joined a trio and plays all over Southern California and specializes in contemporary and show tunes, but can play just about anything.
Rosa blends the traditional sound of the accordion with electronic textures supplied by also plugging into a MIDI. “That helps me create the effect of a musical quartet or even a seven-person group,” he said. “I can play up to five channels at the same time, like bass, chords, strings, organs, synthesizer as well as the accordion.”
A Puerto Rican native, Rosa, 51, who specializes in Latin and American jazz, believes he is the first Caribbean-born solo musician to play the accordion as his main instrument. He has performed for years in a Latin jazz group based in Puerto Rico, has appeared twice at the Cotati Accordion Festival in Northern California, and makes his primary living playing corporate events and by repairing and customizing accordions in his Santa Clara shop.
Among the eldest of the squeeze box performers is the 80 year old Norm Panto of Thousand Oaks who has earned the title of “Accordionist Extraordinaire” after a 62 year playing career which has included numerous movie, commercial and television appearances, including a new episode of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm on October 13, 2009, the 4th show of the season “The Gift Certificate,” a cruise line stint, along with numerous concerts at Oktoberfests and other events. Plus he knows more than 1,000 songs by heart and can sing in Italian, Spanish and German. He has invited fellow members of the Accordionaires Club to join in with him, and will also include vocalists Shari Osen of Norwalk and Zandra Cousins of Santa Clarita, a former opera singer who also plays the spoons.
Bryan J. Olgin, 60, of Gorman bills his act as “The Strollin’ Old-Time Rock ‘n’ Rollin’ Accordionist” and plays a muzette, a smallish piano accordion that enables him to stroll and entertain people close up. He learned to play by ear, and doesn’t read music or understand theory, but nevertheless says, “As long as I can bring smiles to people’s faces, I think I’m doing fine.”
Eighteen year old Jordan Elliott of Costa Mesa will also help bring smiles to Festivalgoers faces. Dressed as a jester, he will stroll and perform gypsy style. Elliott found his accordion on craigslist three years ago and taught himself to play.
Along with Elliott, those who play a key role in the accordion’s respectable future can be found in the Martin Music Center Accordion Orchestra of Fullerton. The 18 member group, ranging in ages 11 to 35 years, represents the next generation of squeeze boxers, many of them having already performed in the most prestigious of settings including three trips to the White House, numerous international festivals and competitions including a recent trip to New Zealand for the Coup Mondiale International Accordion Competition. The orchestra and school are under the direction of Randy and Sandy Martin, both accordion players who met along their personal squeeze box paths. The orchestra will perform four times at the Festival as well as promote their music program.
On the other end of the spectrum is the oldest of the Festival participants. At 91, Sam Costabile of Hacienda Heights knows more about accordions than most. But he has never played one. Costabile took up repairing them as a hobby after a forced retirement and the sudden death of his wife. Over the past 35 years he has repaired hundreds of accordions and has become an expert on the construction and history of the instrument, and a living encyclopedia of all things accordion.
Costabile will kick of the day’s events with a question and answer session all about accordions at 10 am. The Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Though the lineup is rich in talent, but the Accordion Festival will not put a “squeeze” on your wallet. All activities including entrance to the swap meet are included in the price of Market Place admission, which is $2 or FREE with a canned food item to help the Orange County Food Bank. Children 12 and under are free. A complete schedule for “The Big Squeeze” is available at the website www.ocmarketplace.com.
All attendees will have the opportunity to win a FREE Hohner Bravo 48 II accordion donated by Hohner USA. Free sign up to win the accordion, which is ideal for beginners, will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Big Squeeze information booth. The winner , who must be present to win, will be announced at 2:30 p.m. Skip Edwards, the Hohner playing accordionist with Lisa Haley and the Zydekats, will be presenting the accordion to the winner.
In addition there will be free dance lessons, a special section for accordion related vendors, restaurants and caterers offering food samplings of international cuisine paralleling the popular accordion countries will be featured in the Main Squeeze Stage area. Along with the Festival is the regular base of Market Place vendors which includes nearly 1,000 merchants offering a variety of products and services. fresh produce, gourmet foods to go, artisans and crafters, manufactured homes, kid’s play area, inflatable attractions, hair salon, food concessions and more.
In its 40th year the Orange County Market Place is held every weekend (except during the Orange County Fair) at the O.C. Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa. Hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. More information on these events may be obtained by visiting www.ocmarketplace.com. or calling 949-723-6660.
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